It’s dangerous to go alone… take this
You’d be hard pressed to find a Nintendo franchise more storied thanThe Legend of Zelda. AlthoughMarioandPokémonhave far surpassed the series in terms of raw sales,Zeldafans are among the most passionate fans in the industry.
Naturally, an official love-letter toZeldaenthusiasts is going to get quite a bit of attention, leading it to take the top spot on Amazon’s bestseller list — enterHyrule Historia.
The compendium is segmented into four parts: “The Legend Begins,” which is entirely aboutSkyward Sword; “The History of Hyrule,” which takes us through a journey of everyZeldagame to date; “Creative Footprints,” which is my personal favorite section filled to the brim with sketches; and finally, a comic prelude toSkyward Sword.
Join me as I dive into every facet of whatHyrule Historia‘s 277 pages has to offer.
The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia(Book)Writers: Shigeru Miyamoto, Eiji AonumaPublisher: Dark Horse BooksReleased: January 29, 2013MSRP: $34.99
From cover to cover, the physical book is wonderfully crafted. The word “tome” actually is fairly accurate, as the book feels fairly weighty, and almost a steal at the asking price. It has a beautiful minimalistic cover that represents the elements of theZeldaseries, and colored in the perfect shade of green, it’s a great conversation starter as someone walks over to it and sees the resemblance to Link’s classic tunic.
The first thing you might notice when you open the book is the inclusion of a letter by one of the most famous faces inZeldahistory: Shigeru Miyamoto. It’s a nice little section that explains what the Zelda series means to him, and what some of the basic tenets of the series are. Towards the end, Eiji Aonuma also gets to weigh in. Both of them are fairly lengthy and from the heart, detailing how theZeldaseries came to be and what it means to both of them.
These were crucial additions that really added to the overall package, letting you know that this wasn’t just a cheap cash-in. Do keep in mind that this is a straight translation of the Japanese book that dropped in 2011, so a few parts are not going to be up to date.
The firstmajorsection of the book is the portion onSkyward Sword. And when I say “Skyward Sword,” I mean nothing but. There are sketches, artwork, character profiles, and a general overview of every single area in the game — in fact, I’d go so far as to say that this is basically a complete book in its own right with regards to this particularZeldaiteration.
My favorite aspect of theSkywardchapters is probably the little tidbits of information, like the fact that they specifically removed a sense of regality fromSkyward‘s Zelda character design, but at the same time had to figure out a way to make her stand out.
Or the reason why the Pumpkin Landing bar doesn’t serve milk is because Skyloft doesn’t have “ground themed” animals on it. If you’ve played it, you probably noticed that, but at the same time it’s nice to see how much thought was put into the game.
In addition to factual nuances, the writers also have a bit of fun too. Like when they suggest that Sheik’s harp fromOcarina of Time maybe the same one as inSkyward Sword, or that the Timeshift Stonesmightbe made out of the same blue material as the iconic blue Ocarina.
The artwork is plentiful and beautiful, and there are a lot of quotes that bring to light how much creative freedom was given with the game. You’ll get to see early concepts, like the creatures that were supposed to be the original Kikwis, and a rejected Zora-like race.
There aretonsofSkyward-related sketches, factoids, and art on display in this section. IfSkywardis your absolute favorite game in the series, you’ll be in heaven, and it’s probably worth a purchase for that alone.
Personally, I wasn’t the biggest fan ofSkyward Sword, so I would have appreciated some elongation of the other three portions of the book. At the same time, this first section was so well done that I gained a bit more appreciation for the game, and I even had the itch to play it again. Plus, you have to keep in mind that this book was released in tandem withSkyward Swordand the 25th anniversary celebrations.
Next we move onto the “History of Hyrule” section, which everyone will probably remember as the initial controversy-starter a while back that broughtHyrule Historiaso much buzz. While this may seem like a standard retrospective at all of theZeldagames, it’s a bit more than that.
This is the “big deal” that everyone was referring to a few years back, when it was said that Nintendo would take on the “official” timeline theories that have been circulating for years. The book explains how there is initially one timeline that eventually splits into three different realities.
Whatever your take is on the “official” stance, Nintendo does a decent job explaining how each game fits without getting too ridiculous — the key is thatOcarinasplits into three branches — and that’s really all you need to understand.
Each game is roughly equally represented, from fan favorites likeMajora’s MaskandOcarina of Timeto underrepresented games likeThe Minish Cap. All of the stories more or less weave into each other, with sufficient reasoning given for the split-timeline theory.
The only bad part about the this section is that it doesn’t includeanyspinoffs, but that’s understandable as this section is mainly presented in order to establish an official canon.
Next we move onto “Creative Footprints.” This section is my absolute favorite, and I even wish it was a little longer. You get to see insane drawings (some of which have never been shown before), like the original developmental maps by Shigeru Miyamoto.
These sketches in particular resonated with me, as I vividly recall drawing my own segmented grid-based maps. WhenHyrule Historiaconstantly reiterates that Miyamoto had a hand in nearly every aspect of the originalZelda, it shows.
This section is heavily in favor of the more famous titles, so there are lots of materials fromOcarina of Time,The Wind Waker,Twilight Princess, and the originalThe Legend of Zelda(Twilight Princesshas more art thananyother game in this portion).
“Creative Footprints” mirrors some of the best parts of the firstSkywardportion, with new concepts that never made it past the drawing board. Like the existence of anOracle of Seasons/AgesGanondorf that blew my mind (as opposed to Ganon, who did appear), and “GameCube Island” inThe Wind Waker.
Since the popular games are featured, some sections are shorter than others. For instance, if you lovePhantom Hourglassbut hateSpirit Tracks, you’re going to be disappointed, asPHonly gets a scant few pages whileSTgets around 20.
Plus, since a little under half of the book is dedicated toSkyward Swordwith the first and fourth sections, you’re going to be disappointed if your favorite game isn’t represented here.
At the end of “Creative Footprints” is a list of games in the series. Again, some spinoffs aren’t included, which is a shame as this was the perfect opportunity to do so.
The only additional titles this section covers is the GameCubeCollector’s Edition,Master Quest, and a very brief overview of the SatellaviewZeldagames andLink’s Crossbow Training. This was probably the weakest part of the book and almost felt like an afterthought.
After all is said and done information wise,Hyrule Historiaends with a comic read manga style, right to left. The comic itself is a prelude toSkyward Sword, which might immediately turn some people off.
It features a a few beautiful full color pages, then the rest are traditional black and white. The story itself teeters on the edge of one of the more mature tales in theZeldauniverse, but it’s over so quickly that it loses its luster a bit.
While I wouldn’t say it’s completely forgettable, it’s not really a must-read nor is it something that will stick in my mind every time I think ofSkyward Sword. In the end, I kind of wish it was a bit more fleshed out and had a few more color pages.
So given all of this information, should you getHyrule Historia? If you’re a generalZeldafan, it’s a no-brainer. There’s a decent amount of new information here, the art is beautiful, and the timeline section is great to have as a general reference for whenever you want to re-learn or decipher the story of one of your favorite franchises.
But if you’re a more casualZeldafan and only gravitate towards a few select titles (like one of the more underrepresented ones), I’m not sure you’ll be wholly satisfied.
The book contains so muchSkyward Swordthat, if you don’t like it in some capacity, you may be disappointed. If you have no appreciation of the retro titles as well, the impact may be diminished, especially the portions involving Miyamoto and Aonuma.
Even still,Hyrule Historiais a great read. I learned some things both old and new, and I got to enjoy some beautiful art. What more can aZeldafan ask for?
